


Peter’s trip to the office

by Tree_no3



Series: Peter's very very bad 2 weeks...and after that too [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-05 00:56:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15852957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tree_no3/pseuds/Tree_no3
Summary: How badly can a day at school go? Peter is here with an answer.





	1. Whoops

Through a joint agreement between him, Mr.Stark, and Aunt May, Peter was allowed to be Spider Man as long as he didn’t get in trouble at and had As in school, got to class on time, and got at least 6 hours of sleep every night. No matter what. Obviously, Peter had added in some clauses about if there was something really important that he needed to see through, or some one who was injured, or just EMERGENCY emergencies, he could get back so he only had 5 hours and 35 minutes of sleep (JARVIS was allowed to monitor when he actually slept.) Any ways, things had been going really well, he was getting enough sleep, getting good grades, and getting to school on time every day. Everyone (except Tony and May because they were both stress cases) was happy. Ok, Peter was happy, because the only thing between him and helping others was Flash.  
“Peter? Is Peter here?” Asked the sub. Peter raised his hand, Flash and this sub who always forgot who he was and had already marked him absent on accident once. Peter sighed, and turned on his computer. Opening up schoology, he found the web quest they were supposed to do in class that day. Of Course, his teacher being his teacher, the worksheet was not in the same folder. Honestly, how hard can it be? He wondered to himself. This led to about half the class period being wasted until the sub realized that it was in their inbox. Peter waved Ned over, and the other boy quickly moved to the seat adjacent to him.  
“So if we finish this on time, do you wanna come over to my house and work on my new pod racer model?” Whispered Ned.  
“We have math homework?” Peter replied, using his tone to indicate a question.  
“Well yeah, but you can finish that in like… 2 minutes, and I can do mine while you’re out.” Explained Ned excitedly. Peter smiled at his obviously excited friend.  
“Yeah, ok sure, it’s still in the box, right? Do you wanna bring it to the tower to see if we can add things to it?”  
“Oh my god, yes!” Cried Ned, grinning broadly, Peter grinned too.  
“So what are the nerds talking about today?” Asked Flash, leaning forwards from behind them. Peter felt the smile slide off his face.  
“Well, I got this new mode…..” Peter cut Ned off by kicking him under the table.  
“No, no, let him finish, I wouldn’t want to fall behind in the kid-toys market scheme.”   
“Actually, the models are for–” Peter cut Ned off again.  
“Oh, Penis, let your friend talk. He’s excited about his new toy, can’t you see? He just wants what any other fat, four year old, nerdy kid would want, to talk about his models in show and tell and seem all grown up. Ofcourse, as someone who can’t even buy the paint, I doubt you get it. It’s ok, Ned, I understand the need to express your childish excitement.” Flash smiled, Ned looked down at the ground, and Peter tried to resist the urge to punch Flash into the next week, “aww look at the both of you, such sweet little nerds off to…”  
“No talking in class! Flash, Ned… Henry?” The sub squinted at Peter, forgetting his name once more.  
“Peter,” he prompted.  
“Thank you, Peter, all three of you, go to the office.”  
“The office?” Asked Ned, incredulous.  
“Out. Now. Office.” Peter slowly collected his things, not sure exactly what had just happened, and followed Ned and Flash out the door. He was surprised out of his blank state when Flash shoved him into a locker.  
“Why’d you get me in trouble, Penis? You know I can’t go on the field trip at the end of the year if I get sent to the office one more time! I guess you’re just jealous because you can’t pay to go on most trips!” Flash’s face was angry, and Peter swallowed nervously.  
“It’s not Peter’s fault, leave him alone Flash.” Said Ned in quiet protest. Flash whirreled on him.  
“I suppose not, it really is both of yours.” He stalked towards Ned.  
“Ya know group punishment is a war crime.” Blurted Peter, trying to ensure Ned wasn’t hurt. Peter could take the hits, he’d heal, he’d be fine.  
“You know, Petey, you’re as stupid as you look,” snarled Flash turning back towards him, drawing out the know, and turning slowly. His side was so completely open, such a perfect target, Peter had to go through a conscious effort no to hit him just below the ribs, which would… right, not doing that. But now he was so venerable from… no… peter licked his lips. Flash smiled, turned and sent a fist towards Ned’s gut. Peter would later justify it as an accident, but really it was simple. Ned was his friend, his very best friend, and friends didn’t let each other get hurt.   
Flash cried out as Peter’s foot connected with the back of his knee, sending his sprawling into Ned. Peter grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him sharply backwards. Flash looked more mad than scared, but Peter wasn’t worried. The other boy tried and uppercut at Peter jaw, and Peter shoved him sideways so his hand passed harmlessly through the air on his left, Flash pressed his lips together in frustration. Peter aimed the punch, mercilessly pushing Flashes teeth through his lips. Flash doubled over, spitting blood.  
“Holy shit, Peter, did you just do that?” Asked Ned. Peter looked at Flashes blood on the floor, on his hand.   
“Oh my god,” whispered Peter. This was not good. It was so not good, he began to back away, fumbling for his phone. He needed to call Tony, or Matt, or or…   
“You pay for this,” bubbled Flash through bloody teeth. Blood was flowing down his chin and neck, beginning to stain his shirt. Peter was already halfway across the hall, but his enhanced hearing picked the other boy up easily.  
“Oh my god,” whispered Peter, “oh my god.” Ned took his phone out of his hand, finding Mr. Starkis his contacts.  
“Kid? Are you ok? You’re supposed to be in class?” Came Mr.Stark’s voice almost immediately. Peter just blinked, “kid?” Tony was half yelling, “ok I have your location, I’m… I’m on the… oh sorry Mr. Osar… kid? I’m coming… sorry, pepper will… yeah.”  
“Mr. Stark, it’s ok…” Ned started.  
“ oh my god, Ned, why do you, is Peter…”  
“He’s fine Mr. Stark, we just got in some trouble in school and i thought we should call you.”  
“Oh, oh ok,” Mr. Stark seemed to calm down, and Peter could hear his breathing slowly normalize. It was going to be ok, Mr. Stark could fix anything.  
“Ummm, mr.Stark?” He said, timidly.  
“Peter, are you ok? Who got you in trouble, should I come talk to your—“  
“Well yeah, umm you know that kid Flash I told you about?”  
“Oh my god, if he even so much as… ya know what, I’m gonna ruin him. No college, no internships, ever. That kid is gonna pay for—“  
“Uh, Mr.Stark, He didn’t, I’m fine actually ummm, I kinda… so now he’s kinda… injured,” Peter finished lamely. There was a long pause.  
“Are you ok?” Asked Mr.Stark  
“Yes, yes I am, he didn’t get anything in, please don’t be mad, Mr.Stark, I really didn’t mean to, I just kinda did, and he was gonna so I had to and please don’t be mad and don’t tell aunt May, she’s gonna freak out, oh my god, I don’t wanna freak her out, I’m sorry Mr. Stark. I-I”  
“It’s ok, kid, I’m on my way, I’ll meet you there in a minute.”  
“Uh, ok, I also might mention i got sent to the office by the sub who can’t remember my name.”  
“Ok, we’ll deal with that later, just go now, and don’t say anything until i get there, bring Ned, cause you both have detention anyways.”  
“Ok, I’ll be at the office,” Peter said, lowering the phone, “Oh and Mr. Stark?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Can you stay on the line?”  
“Yeah, sure kid.” Peter and Ned walked to the office without talking. Peter had never gotten in trouble like this before. He had been late once, and one other time he had gotten detention. But now… he could get expelled… or worse. His hand itched, and he looked down to find dried blood already beginning to flake off. He crossed his arms so it was concealed under his elbow.  
“Ummm, Mr.Davis?” Peter said, as both he and Ned poked their heads into the office. To Peter’s horror, Flash was sitting there, and ice pack to his face. His eyes looked slightly puffy, and Peter wondered if he had cried for very long. He looked away.  
“Ah, Peter, I was wondering when you would get here. The paramedics are on their way, so Mr.Thompson will be leaving soon. Of course, there is so much traffic. I hope we can get your side of the story before then?” Peter swallowed, Mr. Stark had said not to talk until he was there, but he couldn’t just not talk.  
“Uh….” Peter started, but couldn’t get much further before he felt like he had betrayed Mr. Starks trust.  
“Tell him what you think he wants to hear. He likes you, Peter, use that.” Mr.Stark came through his ear. Peter had forgotten he had stayed on call while they were walking.  
“Well, I just kinda…”  
“He assaulted me is what!” asserted Flash, through it came out as more of a “we asphalt he.”   
“Well, I… Flash.. Thompson…”  
“If you pause too much, they’ll think it’s a lie. Just say what you need to say.” Peter breathed, focusing on his mentor’s voice, pretending he was practicing, addressing only Mr.Stark.  
“Mr. Thompson had uh gotten in trouble with us in class. See, Ned has this new model, and we’re both really excited to work on it?” Peter paused, he didn’t want to get Flash in trouble, but he didn’t want to be in trouble either, and when it came down to it, he’d much prefer turning in Flash than getting detention or worse. “So then we all had to go to the office. And Flash really shouldn’t have gotten in trouble…” Peter saw Mr.Davis roll his eyes, and even Flash seemed to think that was an idiotic statement, but Mr.Stark didn’t tell him to stop, so Peter stuck to it, “So then Flash was really mad, and we were all walking together, and… and then he was all mad, but then he was mad at Ned, but then he was gonna hit Ned. Or at least, I thought he was, so then I just kinda… and then… but then...and I really didn’t mean to Mr.st– Davis,It just kinda…” Peter trailed off not really knowing what more to say, and hearing Mr.Starks footsteps about halfway across the hall from him. 15 seconds, 10, 5, annnnnnd…  
“Hey kid,” Mr.Starks voice came both over Peter’s earpiece phone and through the air naturally, making Peter wince momentarily. Mr.Stark must have noticed, because the call ended.  
“Mr.Stark!” Mr.Davis said, trying his best to appear unsurprised, but it was a pretty weak facade, and Peter could see he was nervous and in awe and had that weird emotion that Peter couldn’t really describe, but it was pretty much what everyone felt when confronted with Mr.Starks actual presence and just like wow. Peter still got it sometimes, but right now he was a little too nervous to be feeling it. Flash just kinda blinked, and Peter realized that this was the first time Mr.Stark had actually come to his school.  
“Hello, Mr. Davis, I understand that there was a bit of an incident between Peter and Eugine “FLash” Thompson?”  
“Uh, yes? Umm, actually, we do actually need to call a parent and or guardian for Peter, would you like to uh… call his aunt?”  
“Actually, if you were to look it up, I am technically a legal guardian of Peter’s, so there is no need to bother his aunt at the moment. We will, of course, be discussing this later with her.” Now all four of them, Davis, Flash, Peter, and Ned, were all just kinda blinking.


	2. I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream, but at least there is Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ice cream?” Aunt May asked.  
> “Ice cream.” Peter responded  
> “Ice cream?” She asked again, as if to say “really?”  
> “Ice cream.” The two adults just watched him. He pulled out the 2 gallon tubs, grinning.  
> “That’s all…”  
> “Ice cream.”  
> “Really, ice cream?” This time it was more aggressive, towards Mr.Stark.  
> “I mean, ice cream.”  
> “Why ice cream?”  
> “Cuz ice cream” he responded, gesturing vaguely. Aunt May sighed,  
> “Ice cream,” she muttered to herself as she walked over to get bowls

“You’re my…” Peter started as soon as they were in the car.  
“Yeah, i hope it wasn’t overstepping any boundaries. Part of it was for if you ever were hurt…”  
“Oh my god… Tony Stark is my dad! Oh my god, this is so cool! Oh my god, Mr.Stark!” Peter was feeling that happy high he sometimes got when Mr. Stark did things that were amazing and blew him away.  
“I’m sorry if that wasn’t ok… I really didn’t mean to do it without asking, I meant to, I just never did, and then it and we had to and…”  
“No oh my god, Mr.Stark, I mean like wow. I’m your kid…. thank you so much, you have no idea how… like I always kinda thought of you as…. I just didn’t wanna say... anything because I thought you wouldn’t and oh my god!” Peter could feel himself smiling, and Mr.Stark’s mouth was twitching up at the sides until he was smiling full out too. Peter wished they could just sit there for a little longer, but his smile quickly faded.  
“Look, Peter, about Flash, I get that you want to protect your friends, and that Flash has been horrible, in fact, I’m very glad you finally pushed back at him. Just… be careful. Right now you haven’t attracted too much attention… I just want you to be careful and make sure no one find out you’re Spiderman until you’re ready for that to be out.”  
“Yeah, i really, i didn’t mean to, I just had so much adrenaline and then I kinda kicked him and then I was…” Peter didn’t want to say scared. Mr.Stark was iron man, he wasn’t afraid of anything, and Peter couldn’t be afraid either if he ever wanted to be an avenger. “I was… I was already in, I couldn’t really back out of the fight, so I figured I should just finish what I started.” Peter paused, he sounded heroic and responsible, right? Deciding to quit while he was ahead, he nodded at Mr.Stark to show that he had said what he could at the moment.  
“That’s… that’s good, it’s good to follow through,” Tony looked nervous and scared, but Peter had no idea why. “Be careful though, if there’s ever something you start but need help, or just can’t finish, there’s no shame in running away.”   
“But I wanna be like you, Mr.Stark, and you always follow through, even when everyone thinks you’re dead, you still pull through, I gotta be like that, I’m gonna be just like you!” Explained Peter. Mr.Stark seemed to age 100 years in one sigh.  
“Look, kid, you… don’t be like me, be like you. You aren’t Iron man, you’re Spiderman, you’re better, and have… potential. Don’t let that get wasted by you being hurt. Be careful.” Tony finished lamely, Peter realized he was worrying him, and quickly nodded empathetically.  
“Uh, ok Mr.Stark.” Peter said, trying to seem only mildly uncertain. Why wouldn’t Mr.Stark want him to be just like him? Mr. Stark was awesome, everyone looked up to him, and he was rich and a hero. At the same time. They sat in silence for a minute.  
“Of course, we aren’t done talking about this. We’re gonna be going over it with Aunt May.”  
“Me trying to be like you?”  
“What? No, Flash, you hitting Flash. I already went over being your legal guardian with May”  
“Oh” Peter looked down at his feet. He had almost forgotten about that.  
“In the meantime, I believe that you haven’t had ice cream yet this week!” Said Tony. Peter thought he sensed a subject change, but, hey! Ice cream, he wasn’t gonna say no to that. Peter sat, happily contemplating what kind of ice cream to get. Inevitably, when they entered the store, he still had no clue what to get. Peter sighed, stuck between the Nutella flavor and plain vanilla.   
“So, what do you want?” Asked Mr.Stark after a few moments of awkward silence. Mr. Stark hated awkward silence, and Peter did too, he just had no idea what to get.  
“I’m stuck,” he mumbled.  
“Between how many flavors?” Questioned Mr.Stark.  
“Vanilla and Nutella.”  
“How’s that even a problem, just get both!”  
“But they’re expensive…” Peter trailed off, realizing that he had just told Tony Stark, a billionaire, that ice cream was expensive.  
“Do you not normally have enough money to get a double?” Asked Mr. Stark, sounding legitimately confused.  
“Well…”  
“Ok, can I buy a tub of both Nutella and vanilla?”  
“Excuse me?” Asked the person at the counter.  
“Can I buy. A tub. Of Nutella. And a tub of vanilla.” Replied Tony very slowly.  
“Well it’s not for sale in gallons, it’s scooped ice cream sir. In scoops, on a cone.” Replied the attendant uncomfortably.  
“Ok, but can I buy it in gallons.”  
“Mr.Stark, it’s ok, I can just get a scoop,” Said Peter, unsure why Mr.Stark had suddenly decided to buy so much ice cream. It’d be awfully expensive for him to buy from this store, ice cream was so much cheaper just across the street at the grocery store. He wanted to tell Mr.Stark, but didn’t want to sound dumb to him.  
“No it’s not ok. You don’t have money to buy ice cream, Peter, this is important.” Mr. Stark said quietly back. Peter shrugged, still unsure, “just let me buy you a couple gallons. Please. I feel bad and that’s the only thing I know to do.” Peter paused, then nodded, happily imagining his lovely week of eating good ice cream with Aunt May and Ned.  
“Well, you see sit, I’m not sure how much a gallon is supposed to be.” Said the person at the counter after having walked into and back out of the office.  
“Ok, well, can I talk to you in your office?” Asked Mr. Stark. It wasn’t like the guy was gonna say no, and Peter awkwardly sat down in the otherwise empty store. No one else was there, they were all in school. He could see Mr. Stark making gestures towards the ice cream and back to the guy and to himself. It looked like he was pitching a product idea to the SI board. He didn’t really need their approval, he was just being polite. After a few minutes, the two headed back out, the guy rung them up, and Mr. Stark and Peter triumphantly carried out two gallons of ice cream.  
Peter happily piled some of each flavor into a bowl, and slowly savored the treat. He gestured for Mr.Stark to take some too, but Mr. Stark didn’t. Peter glared at his ice cream, demanding why his… dad!!!!... hadn’t taken any. The ice cream wouldn’t answer so he continued eating it in silence for the rest of the drive. Once they got to the tower, Mr.Stark explained that he had to go talk to some important guy from someplace. Peter wondered if that was who he had abruptly stopped talking to when they had called. He sighed and got out his homework. Technically, he was suspended for a day but he was hoping his teachers liked him enough to let him turn in his homework.   
After an hour or so of working, Peter finished. Having nothing to do for the rest of the day, he called Ned who had been sent home for the day as well.   
“Hey Ned,” He said flatly, he was still in pretty poor spirits.  
“Hi, Peter!” Replied Ned far more enthusiastically, “Ok, so guess what?”  
“What?”  
“Apparently after listening to and having time to consider our side of it, and my guess is that Mr.Stark’s got something to do with this, I can stay on the decathlon team!”  
“Oh my goodness! Yes! I’m so glad, I was really worried I got you kicked off. I mean, you like… didn’t do anything wrong, so I dunno why you’d be kicked off, but yes! I am so glad to hear that!”  
“Yeah, me too, and…” Ned went on for a while about what they were going to do in the coming year, and Peter listened half heartedly. Obviously, after assaulting another student, Peter had been taken off the team. He had tried arguing against it, and Mr.Stark was going to talk to the teacher to see what he could do, but even with Mr.Stark’s influence, Peter was pretty sure he was off the team for good.   
Eventually, they moved on to other subjects which left Peter feeling gradually better, until by the time Ned had to go, Peter was feeling reasonably happy again. Ned would come over the next day, and they would eat ice cream and work on the model pod racer in the lab, just like they had been planning, except better because there would be ice cream, and Peter was legally Tony Stark’s son. Peter watched a few thongs on Netflix, and by the time he looked up it was about time for Mr.Stark to be back. As if Peter thinking about how long Mr.Stark had been out, Mr.Stark magically appeared in the room.  
“Ok, kid, we’re gonna have to go over what happened with Flash with Aunt May, ok? Yeah, and she’ll probably be upset. Luckily, she hasn’t checked her email, so we can tell her in person at your house. Leaving in 5.” Mr. Stark said it briskly, but not unkindly, and Peter nodded and ran off to get all his things together. He had been in the pent house for 7 hours, his stuff was pretty much all over. He piled it into his backpack, and trotted up next to Mr.Stark just as the countdown in his head went to zero.  
“Are you mad?” Asked Peter, suddenly realising he had forgotten about the possibility.  
“No, I’m not, in fact, I’m glad that you finally pushed back at Flash. I just wish you hadn’t done so so literally.” Mr.Stark responded after a quick pause. Peter smiled a little as they went into the elevator. Mr.Stark was carrying the ice cream.  
The drive to Peter’s house was long and silent, but Peter didn’t really mind and all too soon they were pulling up to the building. Peter wasn't sure what he should say to May, and as they waited in the apartment, he realised he probably should’ve thought through a good defense and apology while Mr.Stark was out. Luckily, Mr.Stark must have realised that he had no plan, and had formulated on of his own. When May came in and saw both of them she easily realised something was wrong, and sat down on a stool.  
“I was going to say you should take a seat, but apparently you have already done that, and thrown my entire speech off,” Started MR.Stark. May relaxed a bit, understanding there was no emergency, “So at school today, Peter Ned and Flash got sent to the office–”  
“Oh my god, Peter, you should pay better attention, school is so important, and if you don’t do well… and the office, my god, what were you doing?” May quickly interrupted. Mr.Stark seemed completely unsuprised at the outburst, but Peter felt himself slowly freaking out.  
“Well, you see, Ned had this new model, which was gonna be really cool, it’s a pod racer and we were gonna out fit it in the lad at the tower and we were really excited and then the bell, but then Flash, and the teacher who forgets my, and we were talking, and the bell, and then,” Peter was unable to find the right words. Apparently, Mr.Stark had predicted this as well, and jumped in.  
“Mr. Thompson interrupted Peter and Ned, and so they ended out talking past the bell, and got sent to the office.”  
“Yeah, and then on the way there, Flash was all mad, and the Ned was saying it wasn't my fault, but then Flash was mad at Ned, and I didn’t mean to, I mean I guess I did, I just kinda, and the Flash was…” Peter trailed off and looked to Mr.Stark for help. Apparently, this was not Mr.Starks’ plan, and his speech came slightly less smoothly, with tiny breaks between each word.  
“Flash would’ve hit Ned, so Peter hit Flash, and then ended up pushing his teeth into his tongue with a lucky uppercut.” Mr.Stark looked back at Peter for confirmation, then continued. “Ned called me, and we talked to the principal. Peter is suspended tomorrow and is no longer in the Decathlon team.”  
“Oh.” Said aunt May, “So, Peter, I understand that you’ve been heroing around, and that might increase your fighting instincts, but you can’t go around hitting people, or using them, and most certainly not at school. I know Flash bothers you, but you can’t just hit people like that. It’s not right and maybe we were wrong to let you go be spider man every night, if this is the result of that.”  
“But it really isn’t! Please, i already lost the team, I don't wanna lose being Spiderman to,” Peter responded quickly.  
“Well, what else could it be? You certainly did not learn to hit people from me or at school, and nothing like this has ever happened!”  
“But it’s not, I just didn't want him to hurt Ned!”  
“Then you use your words, not your abilities, and you stay hidden and you stay safe! And you don't go Gallivanting off as some masked hero!”  
“May, he was just standing up for himself. Peter probably would’ve gotten hurt sooner or later if Flash continued on that way,” Interjected Mr.Stark.  
“Oh, just standing up for himself. Let me make this clear! Flash and any one who is mean or bullys people, they aren’t super villains! They aren’t for hitting! They are for talking to the principal about and solving things calmly!”  
“Ok, If you want to be calm then, stop yelling, let's have some ice cream and…”  
“You want to tell me to be calm? Peter, my kid, is going out every night to go help people! He could die! I could go to sleep and not see him the next morning! Did you ever think of that?”  
“As a matter of fact, I did, I’m not dumb,” Snapped Mr. Stark back at May.  
“Oh yeah, good point, you’re smart, you develop super techy weapons. Wow wow! Well, Peter isn’t a weapon! He’s just a kid and he shouldn’t be fighting any one! He shouldn’t be off punching bad guys, he should be at school, or doing homework!”  
“And he is. He can do both. He wants to do both!”  
“Does he? Peter, do you?” Peter stuttered for a few seconds, but May quickly moved on, “No, he doesn’t, he isn’t a hero, he’s a kid, and you have no business pretending otherwise.”  
“Peter’s special! Maybe you can’t see it, but that’s not my problem.”  
“I’m sorry? It really is, see I get to decide where he goes, so if I want, I can pull the plug on the hero thing right now!”  
“Don’t you dare, Peter is improving all the time, you can’t just stop half way there! And he’s brilliant, he should be in Stark industries, hell, he’s smarter than me, I don’t know why but since he’s been Spiderman, his work has improved too. You can’t ‘pull the plug’ on this! It’s important, he’s special!”  
“So what? Does he not get a childhood? Listen here, Stark, he’s not a project, and he’s not a tool! You don’t get to decide what he does! He doesn’t need to improve, he’s fine as is! But you… you keep encouraging him to take risks! You just play around with his life like it’s nothing! Well, newsflash! it’s not! Peter, this applies to you too, your life isn’t expendable, stop being a hero and risking it.”  
“No one said his life doesn’t matter! This… this helps him be safer, the suits, they’re… they’re gonna protect him, and then it’ll be ok, and Peter can be a hero like he wants, and he’ll continue doing well, and everything will be fine!”  
“You think punching flash is fine? You think coming home with a black eye is fine? How about having a building dropped on you? Is that supposed to be fine!”  
“That wasn’t supposed to happen, it was an accident!” Mr.Stark was panicked as well as angry now, and Peter was getting nervous. If both he and May were panicked and mad then things… well they were already pretty bad.  
“Ok, well what if, someday, an accident just happens, and Peter gets hurt? What then? Is he just another casualty for you to brush aside?”  
“No! Holy shit, No! Peter isn’t just some random… he's special… it’ll be fine! The suit and Karen and…”  
“I don't care about your stupid suit, or karen, or fancy machine gun web shooters! It’s still dangerous, it’s still Peter inside the suit! And no matter what you add to it, it’ll never be enough and he’ll never be safe.”  
“You don’t think I know that?”  
“Oh, I know you know, I’m just pretty sure you don’t care!”  
“Oh?”  
“Don’t act all surprised, at some point one of us would figure out that you caring about Peter is just a charade so you can investigate his gifts, see what can be done with them! It’s a well known fact that you only care about yourself, maybe Pepper, and your robots! Well, Peter isn’t a robot, and even if you did care about him… I mean… look at you! You’re a psychological mess, and injure yourself every other week with some kind of experiment! Well, that’s not what Peter is going to do with his life!”  
“You don't get to decide that!” Mr.Stark was stuttering, and his hand was shaking. He gripped his arm and his knuckles turned white. Peter wanted to say something, wanted to say that there wasn’t a problem, Mr.Stark was careful with his tech, running hundreds of simulations in computer models. But Peter was stuck, frozen, just watching his life unravel.  
“Actually I do!”  
“But… but we and technically I’m his guardian too!”  
“I don’t care, that was for emergencies!”  
“Ok, well I still have pull!”  
“Only legally, we agreed that you’re his guardian so that if there is something that has to be signed, or if Peter’s injured somewhere that you can go but I can’t...so it just makes things easier!”  
“Ok but…”  
“No, not ‘ok’ you’re his guardian because it kept him safer! Apparently you just get him in more danger, and you don’t deserve to… you just aren’t good for him.”   
“May—“  
“You’re bad for Peter, if you had half the brain you claim to, you might see that! But you don’t you’re just a stupid rich guy living off his dad’s gold parachute, who will never amount to anything else besides an unsolvable problem!” In the empty silence after May’s words, Mr. Stark just opened and closed his mouth, seeming to silently repeat the same words again and again. Peter looked from Mr.Stark to Aunt May, having no clue what to say. But he needed to say something.  
“There’s ice cream.” He blurted. Dammit, no, stupid brain, he silently cursed himself. Aunt May slowly turned slowly towards him, and Mr.Stark just stood, Peter could hear his uneven breaths, and gestured helpfully at the fridge. “Ice cream,” he repeated dumbly.  
“Ice cream?” Aunt May asked.  
“Ice cream.” Peter responded   
“Ice cream?” She asked again, as if to say “really?”  
“Ice cream.” Peter responded once more, mentally replying “really” in his head. This made him laugh and he just kinda collapsed, then walked over to the counter, snickering. The two adults just watched him. He pulled out the 2 gallon tubs, grinning.  
“That’s all…”  
“Ice cream.”  
“Really, ice cream?” This time it was more aggressive, towards Mr.Stark.  
“I mean, ice cream.”  
“Why ice cream?”  
“Cuz ice cream” he responded, gesturing vaguely. Aunt May sighed,   
“Ice cream,” she muttered to herself as she walked over to get bowls and spoons, “just cuz ice cream.” Mr.Stark stayed squarely in the living room, standing awkwardly. Peter waved him over, but may had only gotten two bowls. Mr.Stark just stayed. Peter’s ice cream wouldn’t tell him why. Stupid ice cream, so unhelpful.


	3. Flying Saucers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I guess cups aren't exactly saucers, but close enough.

The rest of the night passed as more of a blur, Mr.Stark stood in the living room until he seemed to become aware of his surroundings again, and then he slipped out silently. Peter barely noticed when he left until his enhanced senses picked up the faint sound of the door handle being turned with patience that Peter didn’t know Mr.Stark possesed. He didn’t say anything, Mr.Stark wouldn't have gone through so much trouble to be quiet if he had wanted his movements to be noticed. After a while, May told him that he should go to sleep, so he got ready for bed, and laid down in his room for the rest of the night, staring up at the dark ceiling.  
Eventually, he must have slipped off, because he woke up to his alarm beeping and a note from May saying she had to leave early, breakfast and lunch were in the fridge. Blearily, Peter ate and got up to do his dishes. When he opened the trash he saw the crushed remains of a Stark phone. It was the one Tony had given to May for emergencies with a direct connection to JARVIS. Peter wondered if May had a replacement yet. Probably not. He walked to the bus stop, Flash was not there. Then he realised he wasn’t supposed to go to school that day, turning back towards his house, he wondered about stopping by the tower, or calling Mr.Stark. He called Ned.  
“Hey Peter, what’s up?”  
“Not much,”  
“Ok, but why are you up then?”  
“I forgot i didn’t have school,” Peter responded as shortly as he could.  
“Heh, good job,” there was an awkward pause Peter didn’t feel like filling, “Anyways, i dropped the model off with Mary, the receptionist, you know her?”  
“Yeah, look, Ned about the model,”  
“Yay, ok, so the model is still in the box, i told her you’d pick it up, so maybe you can start it while I’m at school, and then you won't be bored?”  
“Thanks Ned, I appreciate the offer, I know you love building models and things it’s just–«  
“Oh, it’s totally fine, it’s gonna be really cool, besides, you know i'm really only into the painting and upgrading, have fun building! Gotta go, the bell is going to ring,” Peters phone beeped at him and then was silent. Peter sighed and sat down, a couple people stared at him, but he didn’t take notice of them. He sat for a while, letting the cold of the pavement seep through his clothes. It took longer than he’d have liked, the winter things Mr.Stark had bought were suited to the north pole because of his temperature sensitivity, so Peter shrugged off his jacket. Sometimes being cold helped him think. Peter shook himself mentally, he was starting to sound like Mr.Stark on his bad days when Pepper sometimes threw Peter out. He sat for a little longer anyways.  
Peter didn’t want to spend all day at home, but he also did not want to go to the tower. Going to one felt like choosing that life over the other, and Peter didn’t want to do that. He couldn’t go to Ned’s house either, Neds mom was mad. After sometime, Peter came to the conclusion that the free internet at the tower was ok to use, and went to the free resource room in the lobby, it had great wifi, and comfy chair as well as snacks. He sat around there, watching Netflix, completely undisturbed. That is until Clint popped his head in.  
“Hey kid, what are you doing not at school?”  
“Nothing, I had a fever yesterday, can’t go today.”  
‘Bullshit,” Clint said, making a face. Peter paused, he couldn’t lie his way out, Clint was a spy, but he couldn’t not tell clint either.  
“I punched Flash yesterday. In the jaw. His teeth bit his tongue pretty bad.”  
“Great job kid, finally doing something about that bitch, “Clint paused for a second, “oh, I’m sorry, didn't mean to corrupt your innocence with bad words.”  
“I’m suspended.”  
“So what? You barely even need to go to school, I mean if you dropped out right now, you could get a job at Stark industries, and then after a year or two, you’d be so hireable literally anywhere.”  
“May’s mad.”  
“Well, I suppose she would be,” said Clint, “I mean, I dunno.”  
“At Mr.Stark.”  
“Tony? Why?”  
“Says you guys are a bad influence,” Peter said. Clint paused, considering his words.  
“To be honest, we probably are,” he started, “and really, I can see her wanting you not to be exposed to so many people who are…”  
“Self destructive.”  
“Ok, that’s not fair, Natasha is just fine,” Clint said, Peter nodded, agreeing.  
“It’s just, I don’t mind if you guys are bad influences, I think you’re good people, and i mean, the world says you’re heroes.”  
“Not to everyone.”  
“Ok, but for me, and I mean, is it bad that I don't care if you’re bad for me? Does that just mean I’ve been around you too long? I just, I know that if I were to go be Spiderman like I am now, I won’t make it, I’ll die eventually,” Peter paused, looking at Clint, who nodded, “Sorry, this sounds so cliche and stupid,” Peter muttered. Clint waited until he was sure Peter was done with the topic. Peter wished he would go away, but he didn’t, he just reached around to turn subtitles on and watched Netflix over Peter’s shoulder. The screen was a little blurry, and Peter paused and waited so it might fix itself. Clint handed him a tissue, and Peter realised it was blurry because he was crying, he ducked his head, and swiped his eyes with the cloth like paper.  
“Ok, this probably feels really bad.”  
“You think?”  
“Hey, I have been told I make too many assumptions by multiple people, a problem which i am trying to fix here,” Peter smiled thinly, and Clint continued, “Ok, so this actually is pretty bad. It’s like you are in a custody battle that never officially started because one side has no grounds besides emotions, and I mean, Tony and May, I’ve seen some pretty bad fights, but I could I mean it’s so easy to see it getting worse too, if Tony decides he’s out for blood, like, if they stop pulling punches, I’m just glad one of them did.”  
“Yeah, and like, wait, how do you know May and Mr.Stark were fighting?”  
“Tony is upset, and May thinks we’re bad for you. It’s not that hard to put together.”  
“What about Tony not fighting so much with May?”  
“That was, to be honest, a guess.”  
“How did you know?” Clint had always been a curiosity to Peter, seeming to alternate between socially awkward and graced with insight, “I mean, that Tony wasn’t really, because like, how?”  
“If he’s been mad at someone besides himself he goes to his lab nearer the penthouse, if he’s mad at himself, he locks the basement. That is, while we’re at the tower. I have no clue what’s going on in his head other places.”  
“Is he really that easy to predict.”  
“I dunno, Tony’s weird and he’d lead anyone who’s officially trying to get a read on him in circles, probably has been perfecting his acts for years, but Tony just makes sense sometimes. I can’t explain it, it’s just intuitive for me I guess.”  
“Oh, do you know if he’s still down there?”  
“Where?”  
“The basement.”  
“Oh, yeah, I’d assume so.”  
“Has he gotten to sleep yet?”  
“How should I know?”  
“You’re the one who knows his mood based on the lab he’s in,” peter responded, and Clint just shrugged, having nothing more to say. Peter looked back at his computer, he might want to check on Mr.Stark, but the again, that was like choosing a side. “Could you go down and check on him for me?” Peter found himself asking.  
“Why can’t you?”  
“I just… I dunno.”  
“Yeah ok i guess I can, but you do realize he won’t let me in.”  
“Won’t he?”  
“Nah, He barely ever lets people into his basement lab, even then it’s really only you and Pepper who have admittance.”  
“Really? He always lets me in.”  
“Yeah, well he wants you supervised by a person, so he lets you in.”  
“By a person? He never said that.”  
“Yeah, well that’s a guess too,” Said Clint, stealing Peter’s chip bag. Peter realized that Clint was assuming he was going to go talk to Tony, well, Clint had assumed wrong and he snatched back his snack before realizing Clint had eaten all the chips in ithe bag.  
“Wow, that was fast.”  
“Has to eat them before you took them back.”  
“How did you know I was… you know, never mind, I’m going to go ask Jarvis about Tony… Mr.Stark, see you Clint,” Clint just nodded, helping get Peter’s things in his bag.  
Jarvis reported that Mr. Stark was currently sitting in a corner on his tablet, going through some designs. When Peter asked what Mr.Stark was doing in a corner, Jarvis responded that he hadn’t the faintest idea. Sighing, Peter paced the lobby. On one hand, if he didn’t go to check on Mr.Stark, he was choosing Mays side, but if he did then it was like choosing Mr.Stark’s. Honestly, Peter wasn’t even sure what the two sides were. He understood that Mr.Starks was that he was fine doing what he was doing right now and that Aunt May’s was that he wasn’t safe where he was right now. Peter just didn’t understand where the argument part was. Normally, when people fought, Peter had no problem choosing a side, but now he didn’t know why there were sides,and he just wanted to choose both, or neither, just one where he kept doing what he was doing, being Spider man at night, and Peter at school and going to the tower to build things with Ned. PEter sat down at one of the benches by the reception desk, trying to determine if talking to Tony was choosing him over May.  
“Hey, Peter, Ned left his model here for you two to work on after school, wanna come take it off my hands?” Asked Mary, Peter sighed, and walked over.  
“Yeah, thanks Mary,” he took the box, studying the cover.  
“Do you know what’s up with Mr.Stark?” Asked Mary after waiting a few seconds, “Didn’t say hello when he came in.” she explained when Peter said nothing.  
“No, no idea,” he lied, but he started wondering, Mr.Stark habitually said hello to the reception desk every time he entered or left the building. For Mr.Stark,a break in routine was only to happen in the case of a nuclear war, and he often greeted the empty desk even if there was an imminent threat he had to go fight. With this in mind, Peter decided to go down to see what was so wrong, something as little as an argument wouldn’t be enough to cause such a disruption, so he wasn’t choosing sides at all.  
“Uh, Mr.Stark?” He asked when the basement door didn't open for him.  
“Sir has requested that no one come in for the next hour, I am sorry Mr.Parker, but no one does include you unless there are important circumstances.” Peter Swore Jarvis was trying to get him to exploit some kind of loophole, and played along helpfully.  
“Well, how important do these circumstances have to be.”  
“Of enough importance to cause your heart rate to elevate,” Peter paused, considering what he could do.  
“My heart rate just has to be elevated?”  
“”Yes, due to emotion or stress, not exercise.”  
“I mean, would you be able to tell the difference?”  
“Not by simply measuring your pulse, no.”  
“And is a simple measurement of pulse all it takes to say i am emotional?  
“For things such as entry to this lab, yes.” Peter smiled, and swore Jarvis sounded content. He started doing jumping jacks. Someone was coming down the hall now, and Peter was about to make up a reason he was doing jumping jacks in the middle of the hall, when he saw it was bucky. Bucky was still in pajamas, and tired Bucky was very non judgemental.  
“Trying to get in?” Asked Bucky.  
“Well,” Peter started, cursing the population of spies trained in detecting lies in the tower.  
“If you break a sweat, it’s less convincing, just keep going until your heart rate is only marginally increased, then hyperventilate to get the last bit.”  
“Umm, thanks, I guess.”  
“Good luck Peter.” Bucky continued on down the hallway, and Peter checked the display on his phone Jarvis had set up. It had little markings telling where his heart rate needed to be. The AI wa amazing, Peter loved him. After a long enough period of time that Peter began to wish he didn’t have super stamina, his heart was close to the right rate. Peter sat down and began to breathe irregularly.  
“Mr.Parker, are you alright?” Asked Jarvis laughingly.  
“No, I’m upset, very upset, and I need to talk to Tony, JArvis, please let me in.” Peter had to stop himself from grinning at his performance when the door knob popped out meaning he could come in. Peter had prepared for the blast of noise, but this was something new entirely, the room seemed to vibrate with music, and until Jarvis opened a compartment with ear plugs, Peter was pretty much unable to come in. Even with the ear plugs, Peter felt the horribly loud sounds envelope and engulf him, and could barely focus. How Mr.Stark engineered in this he had no clue. Peter climbed on a desk and looked around, spotting Mr.Stark leaning against a workbench, and fiddling with a small, black device in his hands. Peter hopped down, and made his way over. Mr.Stark hadn't seen him yet, and he moved behind him so he could think about what to say. The music made it too hard though, and he realised he wouldn’t be able to say anything any ways. He made his way back around he bench, and sat in front of Mr.Stark.  
After a moment, Mr.Stark’s head jerked up. Peter smiled at him and then stopped, realising he had no clue what to do. Mr.Stark looked tired, and his eyes were red like he hadn't slept recently. On the left of his head was a small collection of empty coffee cups, and to his right was a mess of screws, screwdrivers, and bits of metal. The general mess of things wasn’t isolated around Mr.Stark either, and Peter was pretty sure he saw the broken shards of some kind of bottle in a corner. So Mr.Stark had been drinking, Peter sighed, he had successfully remained sober for over 6 months, it was sad that he had lost that progress now.  
“Peter,” Mr.Stark's voice finally cut through the music.  
“Yeah, hi, Mr.Stark,”  
“What are you doing here?”  
“You didn’t say hello the reception, I thought someone needed to check on you.” Peter said, realising the music had gone down. He wondered when Mr.Stark had done that. Currently, Mr.stark was squinting up at him in confusion.  
“Oh, sorry, I was a bit… upset, I’m good now though, see, I was building a… Mr.Stark stood up, looking over his table, locating plans matching the thing he was holding, and connecting it where it was supposed to go in a larger black thing. It booted up, and lights along its side lit up, “a new coffee maker with AI.”  
“That’s cool,” said Peter, completely unsure why Mr.Stark had made a coffee maker.  
“It also connects to Jarvis for… coffee delivery..”  
“how?”  
“ Well Jarvis knows where everyone is in the building so these special cup holder things, here, they’ll fly your coffee over.”  
“Bring it to me?”  
“Yeah, see these things here, yeah, it was kinda tricky to get the stability, but I’ve pretty much got it now, the cup can’t be completely full, but it’s not like people carry completely full cups around anyways.” Mr.Stark was acting completely normal, albeit a little forgetful, but flying coffee delivery wasn’t that much of a leap for him.  
“Mr.Stark, is there anything wrong,” asked Peter, genuinely curious  
“No, why would there be?”  
“You didn’t say hello to reception,” Peter reminded him.  
“Oh, must’ve forgotten, tell Mary I’m sorry, I was just a little tired, investors can be so boring and all.”  
“Mr.Stark, when you fought aliens brought in by a portal accidentally opened by some kid at MIT, you still said hi to Mary or Josh, depending, I dunno who was there. Then you passed out.”  
“So?”  
“So, what’s wrong?”  
“Nothing.”  
“Mr.Stark—“  
“How did you even get in here, I told Jarvis not to let anyone—“ Mr.Stark started walking away, moving things around the table, and going towards the back of the lab. Peter followed after peristently.  
“Which is the other thing you do when you’re upset.”  
“I told you I was fine.”  
“That’s nice, what’s wrong.”  
“Nothing.”  
“Mr.Stark, come on, denying it just means you’re more upset.”  
“Well I’m not going to talk to you about it.”  
“So there’s something then.”

“No, nothing, just the usual.”  
“Ok, we both know you’re not telling the truth.”  
“Oh, you want the truth? Well, the truth is I don’t know, and I have no idea, and I’m sorry. And the truth is that’s I’d prefer you just left and didn’t bother with all the emotional good bye shit.”  
“I’m not leaving you, I’m—“  
“Oh, yep I’m sure you’ll visit, from time to time, maybe if your school comes on a field trip.”  
“No I mean…”Peter trailed off. He wasn’t on Mr.Starks side, because there weren’t sides to begin with. He wasn’t leaving because there was no reason to, not because he prefered Tony, not at all. He wasn’t choosing sides, just helping a friend, right? Mr.Stark had turned back towards him, and peter could’ve sworn he looked scared.  
“Look, Peter, if you don’t want to be Spiderman, or i mean I guess it’s not good for you, and I’m sorry. I really, I guess I didn’t get it, and I never really, I mean, I thought maybe, but really the suits aren’t enough anyways, and I didn’t mean to, I mean I knew what I was doing, I knew and I’m sorry and I know I’m not making sense. Just, have a good life, if you need anything just and then, and don’t worry about money either, I can… look, I’m not sure exactly what was wrong, but I will probably figure it out eventually, so it’s not your job to explain it, if you want to go it’s ok, it’s not your responsibility to explain why.”  
“Mr Stark, I’m not ‘leaving’” Peter said again.  
“Then why are you here? Is there something you left? I’m sorry, I never really checked the lab… ask Jarvis, he knows where things are.”  
“No I’m not leaving… I mean, I’m not leaving you and I’m not currently planning on not being Spider-Man.”  
“What do you mean?” Mr.Stark looked at him, confused while he leaned back against a counter.  
“I mean I wanna…” Peter trailed off, he really had no clue what he wanted besides that he knew he wanted to be allowed in the tower, in the labs, wanted to work with Mr.Stark on stupid projects that would never be useful, and he wanted to show May, and wanted them to all laugh about the overly complex problems of their creations, he wanted to stay up late crammed on the couch watching movies, he wanted to think of new inventive ways of Clint-proofing the vents above his room (which Clint would eventually get through)... “I wanna stay.” Said Peter.  
“Peter, I don’t think you get it, May controls where you go, and honestly she’s right and I am probably a bad influence for you to have around right now. Spider-Man is not safe, and this lab, and the things I come up with, they aren’t really all that safe either.”  
“So? Just because things aren’t safe doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do them. No one ever achieved anything by being safe.”  
“Ok, well then don’t achieve things. Live a nice long life, be happy and I dunno, normal.”  
“You sound like May now, aren’t you arguing the other side?”  
“Well I’m trying to.”  
“Sound like May or argue your side?”  
“Not sound like me,” in any other context it would have been a joke, Mr.Stark certainly said it as one, the side of his mouth lilting upwards. Peter made a face at him, Tony had the habit of joking when he was sad, or happy, or angry or just… awake.  
“That’s not funny.”  
“Didn’t say it was.”  
“Ok well, we need to talk to May.”  
“No.”  
“Come on Tony, it’s not like—“  
“No,” Mr.Stark shook his head and turned back towards the table, shuffling somethings around.  
“Why?”  
“Because… because…”  
“Because she called you stupid?”  
“What? No she didn’t,” Peter stopped himself, apparently Mr.Stark wasn’t too concerned about that. If he was forgetting things then Peter would have to make sure he didn’t remind him about something else upsetting.  
“Oh, yeah, well, is it because… she said you were a mess?” Peter was sure this was an acknowledged fact in the tower, and wasn’t too worried about its effects on Mr.Stark.  
“No, and it’s not because she called me self centered or said that I didn’t care about anyone…”  
“Which isn’t true, if anything you care about too many people.”  
“Things, I care about too many things and a decent number of people, it’s not that though, just I dunno, no.”  
“What is so wrong that you won’t even talk to May?”  
“Because I did talk to her, I told her I was scared that I was always just an inconvenience and a problem for my dad, that he would be mad at me, that I was gonna disappoint him and… and that I wasn’t gonna ever be able to do something to make him proud, because maybe I wasn’t good enough, not worthy or being in the family… and I told her that I was worried all I was ever gonna be to anyone was Howard Starks kid. I never told anyone that, Rhodes only found out by pressing me about it for months. And she said I… that I was, and that.”  
“May didn’t mean it Mr.Stark, come on, you must’ve been mad enough that you didn’t care about what you said so long as it hurt.”  
“Yeah well, that was different, someone had almost broken dummy…”  
“Well think of me as May’s dummy.”  
“But you can take care of yourself, dummy is a silly dunce who wheels of counters then can’t get back up when he falls.”  
“Yeah well May kinda sees me as someone who would just fall off a counter because life,” Said Peter, wondering if Mr.Stark really thought he was capable of caring for himself. He hoped so, he’d put a lot of time into giving that impression.  
“I could see that,” replied Mr.Stark, his customary smile making a quick appearance.  
“Ok, so maybe can you get why May would…” Peter didn’t want to say ‘try to hurt you,’ that’s what super villains did.  
“Yeah, i can, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overreact like that I just felt like… and it seemed like everyone who I trust would just...ya know, because Steve and and Stane and just and I’m sorry. Yeah ok, let’s go, talking to May, or people in general. Probably a good idea,” Mr.Stark started heading to the door, and Peter followed.  
“Hey, Tony, what’s up?” Asked Clint as they walked by. Mr.Stark opened his mouth to reply, but was saved by a coffee cup whooshing to his hand. Mr.Stark jumped back in surprise, then began to laugh, “woah, flying coffee delivery? Sweet!” Clint exclaimed.  
“Mine,” Said Mr.Stark, taking the cup before Clint could reach for it. Clint made a pouting face, and Peter and Mr.Stark moved past him, Mr.Stark sipping his coffee as they walked. It was going to be ok, Mr.Stark was going to go with him, and they could, calmly, talk to May, and Peter would say something useful.  
“Coffee,” he blurted accidentally. Ok, peter would try to say something useful.  
“What?” Asked Mr.Stark.  
“Nothing,” Peter shrugged, trying to be casual, but a little snort of laughter escaped anyway. By the time May was home she'd be more calm, and they would work it out. Mr.Stark could fix anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finished this, but the story will continue in another fic, I'll put the title here when I have one.


End file.
